Sarah Bonallo is a British artist known throughout the world of art and design as the ‘chair genius’. Sarah creates vintage furniture resuscitated using traditional techniques and fantasy finishes.

Each piece of furniture in Sarah’s collections is achieved using time-honoured upholstery techniques, stitched by hand and stuffed with animal hair. Each of Sarah’s chairs take on their own character as the artist literally turns old furniture into contemporary sculptural pieces.

Having studied in Paris, France has been a constant source of inspiration for Sarah Bonallo, particularly the Cote d’Azur, where, even in winter, the sun always shines. Talking exclusively to Facconable, Ms Bonallo told us how she has been inspired by much of France, but particularly the Cote d’Azur.

“Being at the seaside in France reminds me a lot of images: the melancholy charm of a solitary walk to the Cote d’Opal in winter or making memories in pretty coves of southern Brittany, but the beauty and allure of the French Riviera are second to none,” Sarah said.

This summer, Sarah Bonallo launched ‘The Captain’s Chair’. This navy blue chair has been traditionally upholstered and pin-stuffed by hand, using pure Yorkshire wool and cashmere.

It’s beautiful, polished oak frame and military-style gold braiding, gives the same ‘manly embrace’, in Sarah’s words, as a man in uniform! Talking about how the Cote d’Azur had inspired her in the creation of the Captain’s Chair, Sarah added:

“By creating the Captain’s Chair I took my inspiration from the French Riviera of the 1950s, when it became the playground for the glamorous. It was easy to imagine Laflotte port, officers wearing their dress uniforms surrounded by beautiful women of high society.”

In embracing time-honoured fashion, Sarah Bonallo’s work pays homage to the artisans and craftsmen of previous eras. Each individual piece is wholly individual and unique and this uniqueness has been inspired by the inimitable charm and allure of the Cote d’Azur.

To find out more about Sarah Bonallo’s sensational chairs, visit her website at sarahbonello.com.